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Sunday, April 10, 2016

Learn Common Serbian Phrases with Mikela

If you liked the previous post about the common Serbian phrases, I am sure you will like the following set of phrases people tend to use in  daily conversations when they meet the friends they haven't seen for quite a while.

I will add a translation next to the each phrase, so you can see what is only natural to ask if you have a friend who is from Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro or Croatia :) You will see that there are no "safe" topics about the weather though, lol:)


Đesi ba?* = Where are you? =what's up?
šta ima? = what's up?
kako si? = how are you?
šta radiš? = what are you doing?
ima li šta novo da me iznenadiš? 
= is there anything new to surprise me?

Kad si doš'o? = When did you come back?
kad se vraćaš? = when are you coming back?
vidiš li ti ovo? = can you see what's happening?
i kako ti to shvaćaš? = and what's your take on that?

Šta planiraš danas? = What are your plans for today? (what are you gonna do?)
jesi l' sutra šta planiro? = have you planned anything for tomorrow?
što si neraspoložen? = why are you in a bad mood?
ko te iznerviro? = who bothered you? 
Jes' ti diplomiro ono što si studir'o? = finished what you've been studying?
Nešto s' ti to čini mi se malo pauziro? = it seems you didn't finish it in time?

Jes' to novi telefon kupio? = Have you bought a new (cell) phone?
pošto?  = how much?
ako bi ga prodavo koliko bi košto? = if you were to sell it, how much would it be?
Kol'ko mu prostora u memoriju staje? = how much memory (space=prostor) is there?
kol'ko mu dugo baterija traje?  = how long does the battery last?
Jesu l' to tvoja kola? = is this your car? (The word "kola" in Serbian is always in plural)
il je rent a car? = or is it a rent-a-car?
Je l' to dizel il' benzinac? = is it using diesel fuel or gasoline?
kol'ko je star? = how old is it?

Je l' to na lizing? =Is it on lease?
il je gotovina? = or in cash?
je l' to vuče prednja ili zadnja osovina? = is it front or rear traction?

Refren 2x (* kaš = Kad ćeš)
Kaš* se žent? = When are you gonna get married (ženiti = to get married for men)?
kaš se udavat? when are you gonna get married (udavati = to get married for women)?
De mi reci pa da mogu mirno spavat! = do tell me, so I can sleep peacefully!
imaš li djece? = have any kids?
e nemaš pa što? = no? so why not?
šta čekaš više? = what are you waiting for? 
što ne rješavaš to? = why aren't you working on that?


Kako ti je mama? = How's your ma?
kako ti je tata? = how's your pa?
je l' ti ono imaš sestru ili brata? = have you got a sister or brother? 
(The word "ono"implies that he has forgotten about it)
Radiš li šta? = working?
i kol'ka ti je plata? = how much is your salary?
jesi l' u kreditu?  = having a (bank) loan?
kol'ka ti je rata? = how much is your (monthly) installment?


Đe budeš? = Where are you staying?
đe živiš?= where do you live?
đe stanuješ sada? =where are you living now?
je l' to periferija? = is it in the suburbs? 
za kolko si do grada? = how far is it from the city center?
jesi to na fejsu? = are you on Facebook?
koja ti je slika na profilu? = which is your profile photo?
je l' de da to i ti imaš viška koju kilu? = do admit it that you have put on weight! 
(some (extra) kilos = koju kilu viška)

Refren 3x



 *Đes ba or Gde si? here means "what's up", and is often used along with that phrase "Đes ba? Šta ima?

Friday, March 04, 2016

Common Phrases in Serbian

Common Phrases in Serbian

I am sure you liked the previous post where you could practice  pronouncing "Laku noć" which means "Good night". Today we are going to practice saying "Dobro jutro" or "Good morning" with this fun commercial:



It is actually based on a well known song by Bajaga, called "Dobro jutro, džezeri".
Džezeri is short for "jazz players", but in this ad this word is changed to "džezVeri", because the word "đezva" or "džezva" means a specific coffee pot, like this one:


At the very end you are also going to hear how chicken's "piu-piu" is used in the meaning of "they drink" = Piju (to drink = piti: conjugations>>> pijem - piješ - pije // pijemo - pijete - piju)

Now, here comes Bajaga's song with the lyrics, so you can compare the two:

Sunday, February 28, 2016

New Lesson to Practice Accusative in Serbian

After two months of adjusting an old course of mine to the new set of quality criteria at Udemy, Serbian 102 has been approved and is visible for anyone interested in learning Serbian at pre-intermediate level. I'm adding now additional new video lessons such as this one:


 Accusative in Serbian


 

and quizzes:

Quizzes with  Accusative in Serbian


TEST - 15 rečenica

Example with Sg. JA + IĆI + CRKVA >>> Idem u crkvu
Example with Pl. TI + VIDETI + MOSTOVI >>> Vidiš mostove

LEARN

SPACERACE

Pronunciation of Exercise 

You can record a similar story with www.Vocaroo.com

 












Saturday, February 27, 2016

Most Common Phrases in Serbian

Common Phrases when Saying Goodnight


Here comes a fun commercial which is great for you to practice authentic language, especially the word "laku noć" = goodnight,  you'll see why :)



I couldn't resist creating a short exercise based on it! Simply pull the words listed above to the appropriate gaps.

Common Phrases Task - Saying Goodnight in Serbian


Sunday, February 21, 2016

International Mother Language Day

Today is the International Mother Language Day. Mother tongue is part of the cultural identity of a people, the point of recognition, diversity, tolerance and understanding. Taking care of the mother tongue is a way of proving the people's awareness of their own identity. 

The legacy of the Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja says: "My dear child, guard your language as your country. Word can be lost as a city, as a country, as a soul. And what is a people if it loses its language, country, soul? Do not take someone else's word in your mouth. If you take a foreign word, know that you didn't conquer it, you've actually alienated yourself. It's better to lose the biggest and the toughest city of your country than the smallest and the least significant word of your language. People who lose their own words cease to exist as people."

***Many thanks to Meet the Serbs FB page for this post and translation:

Данас је Међународни дан матерњег језика. Матерњи језик је део културног идентитета народа, тачка препознавања, различитости али и толеранције и разумевања. Брига о матерњем језику је начин доказивања свести народа о властитом идентитету. 


Завештање Стефана Немање каже: „Чувајте, чедо моје мило, језик као земљу. Реч се може изгубити као град, као земља, као душа. А шта је народ изгуби ли језик, земљу, душу? Не узимајте туђу реч у своја уста. Узмеш ли туђу реч, знај да је ниси освојио, него си себе потуђио. Боље ти је изгубити највећи и најтврђи град своје земље, него најмању и најнензнатнију реч свога језика. Народ који изгуби своје речи престаје бити народ“. („Завештања великог жупана српског Стефана Немање свом сину светом Сави“, аутора Милета Медића).





Advanced Serbian - Srpski kao drugi jezik

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